1. Field Of The Invention
The present invention relates to improved methods and apparatus for producing laminated material, such as for feeding and processing raw stock material for laminating and processing the laminated stock material to produce individual sheets of laminated printed labels.
2. Related Art
Apparatus are known for making laminated labels having a central substrate layer of printable material disposed between first and second clear cover layers and a backing layer. Such an apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,125, to Watson. The Watson patent describes a machine which is said to be fully automated for operation by a single person. The machine includes a bin for holding a supply of substrate material and a feeder mechanism for feeding substrate material from the bin in a forward direction for travel along a path through the apparatus. Rolls of web material are combined with the substrate as the substrate material is fed forwardly to form a laminated strip of label material. Die cutters are provided downstream for cutting through the substrate and cover layers of the laminated strip to form individual labels on the backing layer. The laminated strip is then cut into separate sheets and output to a holding bin. The feeding mechanism may be a vacuum-grip feeder device having a pair of sucker arms operable for feeding individual sheets lengthwise one after another at a uniform rate from the top of the stack to the nip of a pair of relatively small diameter rollers. The rollers feed the sheets forward in the path. The sheets are squared up relative to their path by a rotary cam downstream from the feed rollers. The movement of the sucker arm, feed rollers and rotary cam are synchronized through suitable gears. Combining rolls receive the substrate material from the feed mechanism to combine the substrate and web materials. The labels are then cut and individual sheets separated from the laminate web material and pass by a conveyor belt to drop into a bin at the output.
The Watson machine lacks a precise and repeatable mechanism for placing the substrate material at a desired position between the web materials for forming the laminate. As a result, cutting the laminated web material may occur at different locations on the substrate material or sheet causing the resulting label sheets to have a non-uniform configuration. Additionally, continued operation of the machine with misregistration may result in cutting the individual sheets in the middle of a set of labels.
The Watson machine also lacks a reliable mechanism for insuring efficient and reliable pick-up of single sheets only of substrate material. The Watson machine also may be subject to improper stacking of separated sheets in the holding bin as a result of such effects as static electricity on the sheets, stretching or bending of individual layers of the laminated material, and the like.
There is, therefore, a need for an improved laminating apparatus which provides for uniform, reliable feeding of individual label sheets, proper control of laminate web tension, improved output of laminated sheets and improved processing overall for creating individual sheets of laminated material. There is a need for an apparatus which can place the substrate material in a precise known predetermined location on the laminate web material without having to constantly monitor the machine output and make adjustments to the timing or the speed of the machine. There is further a need for an apparatus which can produce individual sheets of laminated material by cutting the sheets uniformly at a known location on the web material relative to the dimensions and boundaries of the substrate sheet material. There is also a need for an apparatus which can cut the laminated web material into individual laminated sheets without regard to where the end of the laminated sheet occurs relative to the next succeeding sheet of label material.